Expansion joint cover assembly



June 10, 1969 A. SCHMITT ET AL 3,448,552

EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed April 5, 1967 INVENTOR ALE ASCHMITTLOWELL K.0HEAT wooo m wdim web ATTORNEYS Was June 10, 1969 sc n- ET AL3,448,552

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EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed April 5, 1967 Sheet 4 of 4 INVENTOR DALE A-SCHNu-r'r LOWELL. K.C'HE-A-rwoo| 0215M C un mu;

ATTORNEYS United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An expansionjoint cover attached to spring clips aflixed to a building whereinmovement of the cover plate relative to the clips causes the cover to beforced against the building and locked in position by a catch on theclip.

Background of the invehlion In many building structures, the walls andceilings are formed of relatively short sections; this is particularlytrue in the case of concrete, concrete blocks or brick building wallshaving relatively high coefficients of expansion. Such short sectionsarenecessary in order to avoid cracking of the building walls. Expansionspaces are normally provided between the wall sections to allow forthermal expansion and contraction of the sections. However, if theexpansion joints are left exposed, they are both unsightly andinadequate for providing weatherproofing. While various cover structureshave been provided to cover these expansion joints, many of the knownstructures are incorporated in the joint itself, making it difficult torepair or replace the joint cover. Other expansion joint covers liewholly outside of or inside of the vertical surface of the building walland project from the adjacent surface. Such last mentioned joints arearranged to have sliding contact with at least one of the adjoining wallsurfaces during relative expansion and contraction of the buildingwalls. These cover structures do not accommodate relative movement ofthe building wall sections in directions perpendicular to the commonplane through them, although they do accommodate relative movementparallel to the common plane. Another deficiency of many of theconventional cover structures is that they leave much to be desired froman aesthetic or decorative point of view.

An even greater problem with the conventional expansion joint covers isdue to the fact that they require considerable time and effort byskilled laborers for installation, repair, and/or removal. Consequently,the use of such conventional expansion joint covers is quite expensive.

Summary of the invention Therefore, it is a primary object of theinvention to provide a new and improved expansion joint cover.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a new andimproved expansion joint cover which is easily mounted over theexpansion joint cover to provide a reliable weatherproofing sealregardless of the direction of expansion of the members forming theexpansion joint.

The foregoing objects of this invention are achieved by the use of anexpansion joint cover plate having a plurality of spring clips attachedthereto. The clips extend laterally from the cover plate and one end ofthe clip is attached to the building structure in any conventionalmanner such as a bolt, masonry screw, or the like. The cover plate isthen shifted with respect to the spring clips so that it covers theclips and the joint. Moreover, the lateral shifting of the cover platestresses the spring clips so that they provide an inwardly directedforce pulling 3,448,552 Patented June 10, 1969 the cover plate intoengagement with the building surface. Seals on the cover plate engagethe building on opposite sides of the expansion joint to provide aweatherproofed seal. The cover plate is retained in position by latchengagement between the spring clip and the cover plate.

An importnat feature of the invention resides in the use of a pivotalconnection plate connecting the cover plate with the spring clips whichprovides a substantial amount of free-play movement between the springclip and the cover plate during the initial stages of the installationsuch as when the spring clip is being attached to the building wall butwhich allows substantially no free play between the spring clip and thecover plate after the cover plate has been shifted laterally withrespect to the spring clip to stress the spring clip.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a front view of a firstembodiment of the invention for covering an expansion joint formedbetween substantially co-planar wall sections and illustrates the coverin the final fixed position with portions cut away for clarity;

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the embodiment of FIG- URE l butillustrating the cover in a preliminary position employed duringmounting of the cover on the building structure;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the partsin different operative relationship;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along lines 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view of a spring plate clip and apivot lever employed for attaching the first embodiment to the buildingWall;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of a second embodiment of the inventionemployed for covering an expansion joint formed between generallyperpendicular wall sections and having portions cut away for purposes ofclarity;

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view taken along lines 88 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 99 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of the second embodiment of this inventionshown in an initial stage of application to a building; and

FIGURE 11 is an exploded perspective view of a spring plate and pivotlever employed in the second embodiment.

The first embodiment, generally designated 20, is for covering anexpansion joint between two relatively coplanar wall sections 22 and 24illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6. Opening 26 between sections 22 and24 is bridged by a U-shaped cover plate 28. Cover plate 28 is preferablyformed of extruded aluminum or other lightweight metal. First and secondlegs 30 and 32 respectively, are connected by a central web member 34 toform U-shaped cover plate 28. A generally circular rubber gasket orweatherproofing strip 36 is mounted within a recess on the outerextremity of leg 30 as shown in FIG- URE 3. A second weatherproofingstrip 38 is mounted within a P-shaped slot in the outer end of leg 32.

An elongated pivot plate 40 (FIG. 6) is received within the confines ofa rotary bearing portion 42 centrally located on web 34. Bearing portion42 is dimensioned so that pivot plate 40 can pivot through an arc ofapproximately 40 degrees. However, pivot plate 40 is retained within theconfines of bearing portion 42 and can only be removed by axially movingpivot plate 40 with respect to the bearing portion 42. This is truebecause pivot plate 40 is retained within bearing portion 42 by acylindrical pivot bearing 44 having a greater cross-sectional diameterthan the opening between the two sides of bearing portion 42. A Webportion 46 extends outwardly from cylindrical bearing 44 and has aplaate 48 attached to its outer extremity as shown in FIGURE 6. A slot50 is formed in the outer end of web 46 as shown.

Cover plate 28 can be of any desired convenient length and is attachedto the building by a plurality of flexible spring plate clips 60 each ofwhich extends through slot 50 in respective pivot plates 40. Springplate 60 has a circular opening 62 through which a screw 64 or othersuitable fastener is extended to fasten the plate to wall section 22.Plate 60 includes a bias portion 66 which extends outwardly from wallsection 22 across opening 26 as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. The outer endof bias portion 66 is bifurcated so that it has legs 68 on either sideof a central bias tongue 70 as best illustrated in FIGURE 6. Each leghas a retaining lug 72 extending generally perpendicularly therefrom asshown in FIGURE 6. The other end of clip 60 comprises an outwardlyextending catch or latch means 74, the purpose of which will soon becomeapparent.

Installation of the cover plate is accomplished in a very simple manner.The first step in the installation is the provision of a pivot plate andassociated spring plate clip 60 at approximately every twenty inchesalong the length of the cover plate. This is easily accomplished in thatthe pivot plates are readily slidable along the length of plate 28 inrotary bearing portion 42. A spring plate clip 60 is mounted in eachpivot plate through slot in each plate. The clips are positioned intheir leftmost position.

In this position, central tongue is depressed so as to be substantiallyco-planar with the legs 68 as shown. Consequently, spring clip 60 willtend to remain in the position shown in FIGURE 3 due to the bindingeffect of tongue 70 on plate 48. However, it should be understood thatthis restraining force caused by engagement of tongue 70 with plate 48is quite slight and can easily be overcome. When the clip is in thisposition, its end having opening 62 extends outwardly of the side of thecover plate 28 as shown in FIGURE 2, and as similarly shown in FIGURE 3.Retaining screws (or other suitable retaining means) are then attachedto section 22 by means of a screwdriver or other suitable tool. Afterall of the screws have been attached to the section, cover plate 28 isthen moved to the left by hand as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 4. Thismovement causes the spring clip to pull downwardly and inwardly on thecover plate to pull it toward opening 26 so that seals 36 and 38 abutagainst wall sections 22 and 24 to provide a weatherproof seal. Coverplate 28 is retained in its leftward position illustrated in FIGURE 5 byvirtue of engagement of catch means 74 with the lowermost portion of leg32 as shown. However, the cover plate can be removed by lifting leg 32upwardly so as to clear catch 74 and subsequently moving the cover plateto the right.

Wall sections 22 and 24 need not be exactly parallel since the structureprovided by the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 6 willmaintain a weatherproof seal although considerable variations in thepositions of the outer faces of sections 22 and 24 may occur. It shouldalso be noted that the movement of the facing portions of sections 22and 24 toward each other can occur without a loss of weatherproofing.This fact is true because the flexible seal 36 and 38 will obviouslymaintain contact with their respective wall sections during theexpansions of such sections.

FIGURES 7 through 12 illustrate a second embodiment of the inventionemployed for covering expansion joint openings formed by substantiallyperpendicular wall sections 82 and 84 which have an opening 85therebetween. A cover for opening 85 is formed by cover plate 86 whichis formed of first and second portions 88- and 90 which aresubstantially perpendicular to each other. A first leg 92 extendsoutwardly from the end of portion 88 and a second leg 94 extendsoutwardly from the end of portion 90. A circular tube-like weather sealmeans 96 is mounted in the end of leg 92 and a flexible seal in the formof a blade 98 extends outwardly from the end of leg 94 to provide aweatherproof seal when the plate 86 is installed. A ratchet arm 100having a plurality of ratchet teeth along its length also extendsoutwardly from leg 92 as shown in FIGURE 10.

FIGURE 12 illustrates a pivot plate 102 which provides functions similarto the functions of the pivot plate of the first embodiment. Pivot plate102 has a cylindrical bearing 104, a web 106 and a right angle plate 108on the end of web 106 and also includes a slot 110 at the juncture ofweb 106 and plate 108 as shown. A flexible spring plate clip 112 extendsthrough slot 110 of each pivot plate 102.

Spring plate 112 includes a first portion 114 having an opening 116through which a screw 118 (or other suitable fastener) is passed tofasten the spring plate to wall section 84. Spring plate 112 alsoincludes a second or bias portion 120 which extends outward from thefirst portion 114 in a substantially perpendicular manner and is cutaway at 122 to provide a central bias tongue 124 the purpose of whichwill become apparent later. A catch or latch pawl 126 extends outwardlyfrom the end of the second or bias portion 120 of spring plate 112.

The second embodiment is attached to a building structure in a mannersimilar to the first embodiment. Initially, the elements of the secondembodiment are oriented in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 10 so thateach spring plate can be attached to a wall portion by a screw 128 orother suitable fasteners. The screw 128 is inserted through opening 116in the first portion 114 of spring plate 112. The pivot plate 106 andspring plate 112 assemblies can be spaced up to 20 inches apart alongthe length of cover plate 86 by virtue of the fact that cylindricalbearing 104 is axially slidable in bearing portion of cover plate 86.When all of the spring plate members 112 have been fastened to a wallsection 84, the cover plate 86 and pivot plate 102 are moved inwardlytoward section 84 from the position illustrated in FIGURE 10 to theposition illustrated in FIGURE 11. The direction of movement isillustrated by the arrow 130 in FIGURE 11. Continued movement of plate86 toward section 84 causes bias tongue 124 to be bent downwardly asslot progresses along the length of the bias portion to engage the biastongue. This movement also causes catch or latch pawl 126 to engageratchet bar 100 to successively ride over the teeth of bar 100. However,it should be noted that engagement of catch 126 with the teeth on bar100 serves to lock plate 86 in its adjusted position as shown in FIGURE9. Since bar 100 is sloped with respect to leg 88, the movement of plate86 toward section 84 also serves to depress bias portion 120 of spring112 from the position illustrated in FIGURE 11 to the locked positionillustrated in FIGURE 9. In the FIGURE 9 position, bias portion 120 isbent downwardly so that it exerts a force against bar 100 which tends tomove the entire cover toward opening 85. Bias tongue 124 exerts a forceon pivot plate 102 which also tends to move the cover plate in the samedirection. It is, therefore, obvious that spring plate 112 will causecover plate 86 to remain in sealing relationship with wall sections 82and 84 by virtue of the biassing force provided by bias portion 120 andtongue 124 in combination with the latching provided by pawl 126.

The second embodiment readily allows thermal expansion of wall sections82 and 84 in any and all directions without losing a weatherproof seal.Furthermore, it is not absolutely essential that wall sections 82 and 84be exactly perpendicular since considerable angular variations canoccurwithout the loss of the weatherproof seal.

We claim:

1. An expansion joint cover assembly for covering an elongated openingbetween spaced wall sections, said assembly comprising:

an elongated cover plate adapted to cover said elongated opening; and

elongated spring means formed of thin flexible spring plate stockattached on one end to the exterior of one of said sections andconnected intermediate its ends to a central portion of said cover plateto bias said plate toward said opening.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said spring means is connected to saidcover plate at a pivot point in a central portion of said cover platespaced inwardly from the sides thereof.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said cover plate is of planar shape soas to cover an opening between generally coplanar wall sections andadditionally includes sealing means along either edge of said coverplate to provide a weatherproof seal over said opening.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said elongated spring means isconnected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which is axiallypositionable in any desired position along the length of said coverplate.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein each of said pivot plate means includesa web portion having a cylindrical pivot bearing on one end and a slotin said web adjacent the other end of said web with said spring plateextending through said slot.

'6. The device of claim 5 wherein one end of said spring plate isfastened to One end of said wall section and said spring plate has abifurcated termination on its other end including outwardly spaced legsseparated by a central bias tongue and including a retaining lug on theend of each of said legs.

7. The device of claim 2 wherein said cover plate is formed of first andsecond portions oriented in perpendicular manner to each other to coveran elongated opening formed between perpendicular Wall sections andadditionally including sealing means along the edge of each of saidfirst and second portions to provide a weatherproof seal over saidopening.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said elongated spring means isconnected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which is axiallypositionable in any desired position along the length of said coverplate.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein said elongated spring means isconnected to said cover plate by a pivot plate means which includes aweb portion having a cylindrical pivot bearing on one end and a slot insaid web adjacent the other end of said web with said spring plateextending through said slot.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein said spring plate is formed of firstand second generally perpendicular spring portions with said firstspring means portion being fastened against one of said wall sectionsand wherein said second spring portion extends through said pivot plate.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein said cylindrical pivot bearing ispivoted in said second cover plate portion and said first cover plateportion includes'ratchet means fixed thereto engageable by a lock pawlon the end of said second spring portion to retain said cover plate inlocked position over said elongated opening.

with each spring having a bias portion extending outwardly from saidwall section transversely across said elongated opening;

an elongated cover plate means having weather seal means along oppositesides; and

plural connector means on said cover each having a slot through whichsaid bias portion of one of said spring plates is slidably received sothat movement of said cover plate transversely of said opening causessaid weather seal means to be pressed against said wall sections toprovide a weatherproof seal over said opening and also causes said latchmeans to engage a portion of said cover plate to retain said cover platein sealing relationship with said opening.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein each of said connector means ispivotably connected to said elongated cover plate means.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said cover plate means is of planarshape to cover an opening between generally coplanar wall sections.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein said cover plate means is formed offirst and second portions oriented in substantially perpendicularrelationship to each other to cover an elongated opening formed betweensubstantially perpendicular wall sections and wherein each of saidspring members is formed of first and second generally perpendicularspring portions of which said first portion comprises the end fastenedto said one of said wall sections and said second spring portioncomprises said bias portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,678 2/1928 Bennett 52-4662,081,545 5/1937 Lane 52-211 2,135,048 11/1938 Grifiin 94-18 2,948,9948/1960 Thom 52-278 3,228,160 1/ 1966 OBrien 52-288 X 3,331,171 7/1967Hallock 52-288 X 3,372,521 3/1968 Thom 52-395 3,394,639 7/1968 Viehmann52-395 X FOREIGN PATENTS 162,288 3/ 1955 Australia.

ALFRED C. PERHAM, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 52-395, 466, 717

